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THIS EP IS NOT COMEDY...

The songs in this EP were inspired by Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods. My normal genre is comedy, and these songs aren't (intentionally) funny. They may be hilarious in that they are my attempt to write serious music. But I had fun doing them. And I'm not charging you for them.

If you like this EP and want me to do more material like it (or if you don't like it but want to show your support for me following my muse through the darker corners of her fancy) then you have the option of setting your own price for it. We'll call it a donation.

And if you donate, then you are a genuine patron of... the arts? Well... Me, at least.

I feel the beat of your heart in my veins
Misleading me towards the tree from which I'll hang...

Riding on this carousel
Watching as the world slips slowly past
Riding on this carousel of gods.

Riding on this carousel
Feel each of the creatures as they laugh
Riding on this carousel alone.

Track Name: The Ballad of Essie Tregowan

Tellundiddy Essie? Put some milk out fer the Piskies, put some Milk out fer the Piskies,
Ere they won't leave you alone.
Aaveeseenun, Essie? A Cousin Jack, your Cornishman? Green as a lick red as a Dane and come to take you home?

Matter do a' Essie, you were teazy asn adder, a wee heller, rough as rats and just as crafty as a fox,
Fra' bread and hair on standing stone, a proper villain ee es, dang'rous eyes and idle charms, and a child es come by chance.

Tellundiddy Essie? Put some milk out fer the Piskies, put some Milk out fer the Piskies,
Ere they won't leave you alone.
Aaveeseenun, Essie? A Cousin Jack, your Cornishman? Green as a lick red as a Dane and come to take you home?

Matter do a' Essie you were sentenced and transported, like a cat caught in a bonfire, you found yer way back home
Stare'en like a stuck't pig into dang'rous eyes, t'was some chase, Ye had to plead yer belly or be turned off by the rope...

Tellundiddy Essie? Put some milk out fer the Piskies, put some Milk out fer the Piskies,
Ere they won't leave you alone.
Aaveeseenun, Essie? A Cousin Jack, your Cornishman? Green as a lick red as a Dane and come to take you home?

Matter do a' Essie, ye've gone grey as a badger, and ye've got no spral left in ye, close yer eyes and jes call 'ome.
We've got no quarrel, Essie, though it's you what brung me here, ye've grown weak as a ranny, take my arm and let us go...

Tellundiddy Essie? Put some milk out fer the Piskies, put some Milk out fer the Piskies,
Ere they won't leave you alone.
Aaveeseenun, Essie? A Cousin Jack, your Cornishman? Green as a lick red as a Dane and come to take you home?

Track Name: Keeper of the Peace

This town is mine... Not much trouble in this town.
I am the keeper of the peace.
And when trouble sometimes breaks,
I say, "There must be some mistake,
But we can sort it out outside, quietly... (if you'll just come with me.)"

This town is mine... This is my town.
I am the keeper of the peace.
But protection has a price...
It requires a sacrifice
To me... (Even if you don't see.)

This town is mine. Mine to serve and to protect.
I keep the danger out of reach.
Every kinship bound in blood,
Every unrequited love...
I harbor them all safely behind me.

This town is mine... This lakeside haven dear...
I keep beyond the ravages of time.
And every child under the lake...
Every winter runaway...
The deeds you sign that prove this town is mine...

And every spring I hold it more inside my hand...

Another child has wandered to the snow...

And every winter even more blood I demand...

We watch them spend their summers never knowing...

You will pay me!
Serve and protect...
You will obey me!
Deliver justice for the dead...

THIS TOWN IS MINE! THIS IS MY TOWN.
You have no choice except to pay this tithe, you see,
You raise the sacrificial lambs,
Deliver each into my hands!
Another darkchild for the knife they thrust in me!

(Gunshot)

This town is mine. This is my town.
I am the keeper of the peace.
But justice has a price,
It demands a sacrifice
From me...

This.

Track Name: Believe

In the earth and under the earth.
In the land under the land.
Heed the words of the buffalo man.
Believe.

This is not a good land for gods.
They become tricksters, charlatans, and frauds.
Gods can die, but they die hard.
So believe.

Believe in everything.
Belief is the wisdom I sing.
The only truth you find is the truth you bring,
So believe.